KOTA TINGGI, Nov 9 — Two friends who were promised employment with RM4,000 salary a month ended up as victims of an employment syndicate in Cambodia.

Both victims from Felda Air Tawar 4 were initially offered employment at a casino in the country and were later forced to become scammers working 18 hours from 7 am to 1 am everyday without pay.

The duo was among eight Malaysians detained by the Cambodian Immigration since September after their workplace in Sihanoukville was raided.

Their ordeal finally got the attention of the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said who is also Pengerang MP who assisted them to return home.

Victim, Nurazlin Zulkifli, 28, said she left for Cambodia on April 18 while her friend Mohd Sofi Khairul Fadzilah, 33, arrived one week later.

"After my friend came, we began work the next day and realised we have been deceived and were forced to work as scammers targeting people in Malaysia.

"Initially we were treated well but were not paid and when we asked to return to Malaysia they threatened us to pay back RM30,000.

"Our workplace was later raided and eight more Malaysians from Sarawak and us were arrested by Cambodian Immigration,” she said in a media conference with Azalina in a hotel at Bandar Penawar near here today.

Meanwhile, the father of Mohd Sofi, Khairul Fadzilah Awang, 53, appealed to youth to be careful and not to be easily influenced by the offer of attractive wages to work abroad.

"Think first and most importantly listen to your parents before making the decision. The experience of my son is a lesson to us all.

"As the father, I wish to thank Datuk Azalina and team in assisting me from the start until my son safely returned home,” he said.

Meanwhile, Azalina said upon being informed of the syndicate involving victims from my constituency, I contacted Wisma Putra immediately.

"I was informed the process of getting them home would take time and cost and is very difficult and that is why we called the Cambodian Ambassador to discuss and Alhamdulillah it was over in a week (return home).

"They were lucky and we cannot take this lightly. Even though we love our children, we have to reprimand them. They were lucky...otherwise we understand they would be jailed for six months,” she said. — Bernama